I’m meeting fellow judges, Samantha Shannon and Alice Levine, tomorrow to draw up our shortlist for the BBC Young Writers’ Award 2015. The winner will have their story broadcast on BBC Radio 1 as well as receiving personalised mentoring sessions from an adult author. There are some brilliant stories on the long list.
I’m very much looking forward to going to the Sydney Writers’ Festival. I’m taking part in three events:
Friday 22nd May, 3-4pm, Sydney Writers’ Festival, Neuroses and Diagnoses: Characters and their Psychology Free with Anne Buist and Michael Christie, Sydney Dance 1, Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, Free
Sunday 24th May, 10-11am, Sydney Writers’ Festival, The Happiness Dilemma with Paul Dolan, Amanda Lohrey and Rebecca Huntley, Pier 2/3 Main Stage, Pier 2/3, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, Tickets
Sunday 24th May, 1.30-2.30pm, Sydney Writers’ Festival, Darkness and Light with Brooke Davis and Meredith Jaffe, Sydney Dance 1, Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, Tickets
Hope to see some of you there.
I’m loving being Falmouth University’s Writer in Residence. What a wonderful place to be a student. I’m doing a free public lecture on Monday 11th May from 18.30 – 20.30. Please come along but do book your free ticket in advance.
I’m very pleased to say that I am Falmouth University’s Writer in Residence. I will be joining their School of Writing and Journalism from Monday 27th April until Tuesday 12th May.
My new book is called Reasons to Stay Alive. It’s out now in UK published by Canongate. Here’s the cover:
This is the blurb from the book:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEEL TRULY ALIVE?
Aged 24, Matt Haig’s world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again.
A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth.
‘I wrote this book because the oldest clichés remain the truest. Time heals. The bottom of the valley never provides the clearest view. The tunnel does have light at the end of it, even if we haven’t been able to see it . . . Words, just sometimes, really can set you free.’
It’s getting some lovely reviews:
“For anyone who has faced the black dog, or felt despair, this marvellous book is a real comfort, dealing sympathetically with depression, written with candour and from first-hand experience. I think it is a small masterpiece. It might even save lives” JOANNA LUMLEY
“A really great read, and essential to our collective well-being” JO BRAND
“A life-saving book” AMANDA CRAIG
“Brings a difficult and sensitive subject out of the darkness and into the light” MICHAEL PALIN
“Full of wisdoms and warmth” NATHAN FILER
“Matt Haig is a marvellous writer: limpid; tender; passionate. In this memoir (and it’s short, barely 200 pages long), he manages to articulate, both the bleakness of depression and the means of dealing with it, little by little, day by day, without ever sounding maudlin, or self-indulgent, or preachy. For everyone who has ever felt the snap of the black dog’s teeth, this book is wise, funny, affirming and redemptive. Sometimes depression can be like falling into a wordless pit. Matt Haig finds the words. And he says them for all of us” JOANNE HARRIS
“Reasons to Stay Alive is wonderful. I read it in one sitting. Touching, funny, thought-provoking, with a huge heart. It should be read by anyone who has suffered, or known someone who has suffered (i.e.. everyone)” S J WATSON
“Fascinating and beautifully written” IAN RANKIN
“Thoughtful, honest and incredibly insightful” JENNY COLGAN
“Brilliant and salutary . . . should be on prescription” REV. RICHARD COLES
It’s going to be published in America by Viking, Germany by DTV, Canada by Harper Collins.
